


Don't Fuck with Crazy

by stegosauruss



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Angst, Comfort/Angst, F/M, League of legends comics, Mild Gore, Zed comic, that one page w akali and kayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22463416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stegosauruss/pseuds/stegosauruss
Summary: Ever since she saw what he does to people, both the ones who die, and even worse, the ones who he lets live to tell the world of his performance, there’s a pit in her stomach that won’t close.The Kinkou and Yánléi have teamed up to hunt Khada Jhin, but it has taken a toll on all of them.
Relationships: Akali/Shieda Kayn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Don't Fuck with Crazy

_ Don’t fuck with crazy _ , is what they say. Akali generally goes out of her way to avoid crazy, especially when it comes in the form of zealots. Kinkou, Yánléi, if you ask Akali, they’re all short a few marbles in those big heads of theirs. Of course, her loyalty still lies with the Kinkou and she would’ve fought Zed to the death if Shen hadn’t stopped her, but still. There’s a reason she left.

On the other hand, the man who calls himself Khada Jhin is very clearly short of  _ all his marbles and then some _ . A threat to Ionia, to her people, and she can’t help but be glad that Shen decided to take care of him, and glad that he didn’t decide to do it alone. They lost too many people already when he tried. The Eye of the Twilight finally saw reason and albeit it’s an unsteady truce, the Kinkou and the Yánléi would stop hostilities until Jhin is behind lock and key again, or dead. One of the rare cases she actually sides with the Yánléi. Ever since she saw what he does to people, both the ones who die, and even worse, the ones who he lets live to tell the world of his  _ performance _ , there’s a pit in her stomach that won’t close. Not until she could be sure that he would never be able to perform again, and if she had to defy Shen again to take care of it… well. She’d have to do what she’d have to do.

_ Don’t fuck with crazy _ , they say, yet they’ve hunted Jhin for weeks, and he’d left them clues and breadcrumbs and horrible, sadistic  _ gifts _ to discover. She can’t help but wonder if he wasn’t better left alone, if they should stop following this madman and fucking encouraging him, giving him the attention he wants, but every time, the desire to put a final end to him ends up stronger than her disgust and hurt.

Finally, it seems like the Golden Demon has slipped up. His love for theatrics, for the performance, has led them right back to the Blossom Festival. For once, Shen and Zed agree, he will stage his final performance here, and so they scatter themselves throughout the city, renting rooms in various inns and working on a trap of their own. The mood among them had become tense and quiet, even though the Kinkou and Yánléi were no strangers to killing themselves, they had been ground down by the constant assault of atrocities in Jhin’s wake. They had become tired and restless at the same time, unfocussed, numb. None of these are things that fighters should be, let alone elite assassins, so their first order is to rest for a few short hours before the festival will begin properly. Finally, Akali has time to herself. She should try to unwind, or prepare, but the pit keeps swallowing her and every time she tries to rest, she sees  _ the flower _ .

_ Don’t fuck with crazy _ , but after weeks and weeks on Khada Jhin’s trail, examining bodies, talking to survivors, Akali feels like she doesn’t know what crazy is anymore. It had been unlike anything she’d seen before. Shen telling her she wasn’t ready to see? A joke. No one would ever be truly ready.  _ Could _ ever be. Grown men, soldiers, reduced to sobbing, incoherent messes, women mute with huge eyes full of horror, mouthing  _ the flower, the flower _ , over and over again, catatonic children, broken, who didn’t cry, didn’t move, just kept staring at the spot where their parent was killed, long after they had been taken away with the other dead. 

No matter how many times Akali runs her hand through her hair, tries to meditate, walks up and down the little room, she can’t calm down, can’t rest, can’t focus, until she decides to give up and heads downstairs. Even though it’s only afternoon, the taproom is packed with both locals and strangers who came for the festival, and judging from the noise and smell, most of them are well into their fourth or fifth drink. Not the company Akali is looking for but better than being alone with the images in her mind. She makes her way to the bar. No alcohol, not now, but it gives her something to do with her hands while she scans the room. The people seem content, high-spirited even. It’s a holiday, work is off, there’s drinks for everyone. 

Simple, innocent people, who don’t know what threat is waiting for them tonight. Who don’t expect to die for a long time, when old age finally takes them.

Suddenly, the pit in her stomach opens again, swallows any semblance of calm. There was another inn, another time, not even two weeks ago, where the people must’ve been celebrating just like here, but now, they’re either dead or mad and the inn sits empty in the middle of a ghost town. The noise of these alive, celebrating grows louder and louder in her ears but at the same time, Akali tenses up, listening for that first gunshot which opens the performance, which would turn the laughter into screams and mix beer puddles with blood, until there was only silence, the rasping breaths of the dying and the wailing of the living.

Akali feels her knees grow soft and the room starts spinning as if the countertop behind her was falling backwards while she tries to hold on to it. When someone grabs her by the arm, she reels around, ready to fight even when she’s struggling to keep her balance, and is met with golden eyes, framed by black bangs in a familiar face. 

Kayn catches her arm with the drawn kunai easily.

“Steady, woman. Can’t have you injure yourself before the fight.”

Slowly, the noise in her ears subsides to its normal level and Akali lets out a shuddering breath she didn’t even know she held. She puts the kunai back where it came from.

“Sorry, Kayn. Didn’t mean to stab ya. This time.” Her voice is almost steady but she knows Kayn knows what happened. There’s sympathy in his usually smug face, and like on all of them, the hunt for Jhin left its mark. He has bags under his eyes and is a tad paler than usual, but that doesn’t seem to have hurt his attitude.

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty more times you’ll  _ try _ .” 

They laugh. It’s a guarded laugh, they’re still on opposite sides, but it’s genuine, and Akali feels the pit close up a bit, shakes off her memories. Kayn’s grip on her arm is strong and confident, and his hand lingers a moment when he lets go. In turn, Akali shoots him a quick smile and a glance through her lashes, and did Kayn just blush a little?

The banter continues while Akali finishes her drink, carefully tip-toeing around the war, the conflict between their orders, any kind of politics that could ruin their mood. Most of all, they absolutely avoid mentioning Khada Jhin and their mission. Akali is surprised to find herself grow comfortable. Kayn’s self-confidence, bordering on flat-out arrogance most of the time, makes for a good target, and he can give as good as take. And of course the way his chest and abs peek through his loosely fastened shirt doesn’t hurt either. 

So Akali lets Kayn buy her another drink and lead her to a table in a corner of the inn, hand on the small of her back, while she presses against him a little closer than necessary to get through the crowd of drunks.

_ Don’t fuck with crazy _ , but what if the whole world has gone crazy and the only one here who understands is a hot Yánléi with big abs, an aversion to shirts and crazy eyes. What if crazy kills them all tonight and the town and the world falls into a chaos they couldn’t even fathom, crazy everywhere. What difference would a single afternoon make in the grand scheme of things, whether they kill Jhin or Jhin gets them?

None whatsoever, Akali decides. She’s in the middle of it now, and one more crazy doesn’t matter. Time to find out just what exactly Kayn had in mind for their  _ collaboration _ .

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by that one page from the Zed comics. You know the one.  
> I love my big emo hunk, but he crazy indeed.


End file.
